1. Field
A system and method are disclosed which generally relate to playing data stored on a medium.
2. General Background
DVD's and DVD players are relatively new, but have grown in popularity very quickly. DVD sales totaled four and one third billion dollars in the year 2002. DVD sales are projected to continue to increase, almost doubling consumer spending by 2006. Sales of DVD's are anticipated to grow from 52% of consumer spending in 2001 to 83% of spending to 2006.
Research has shown, however, that many children cannot operate DVD players. As such, research has also shown that the percentage of family or children's movies purchased in DVD format is lower than the percentage of other categories of movies purchased in DVD format. Some of the difficulty in using DVD's may lie in the main menu which allows the user to select various functions upon insertion into the DVD player. The user must navigate the menu with a remote control or the buttons positioned on the player in order to play the film on the DVD. Children may not know how to use the remote control, or be able to locate the proper function for playing the DVD. Some adults even find this menu system confusing. In addition, playing DVD's can be quite difficult for the elderly and handicapped.
Furthermore, research has also shown that only 62% of DVD owners view trailers or previews at least sometimes, as compared to 76% of VHS owners. In addition, family titles will represent only 25% of total sales in 2003 as compared with 44% of VHS sales in 1999. Further, in 2003, children viewed 14% less of the trailers stored on DVDs than trailers stored on VHS tapes. The value of advertising lost from lower trailer viewing is sizable and difficult to replace with traditional media.